I have frequently talked about the virtues of private and family businesses and the potential golden age (see below video - pre-beard days !). My view on this has never changed, but as we work through and ultimately emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, I have reflected on the potential for private and family businesses.

Ultimately, I believe private and family businesses will continue to thrive, lead our recovery and consolidate their position as the bedrock of our economy and wider society. My reasoning for this includes :

Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR was already an advantage for private and family businesses - its typically ingrained in the culture, which comes from the business being a reflection of a person or family, rather than a "separate legal entity". Covid-19 will accelerate societal change - we are all in it together, health is as important as wealth etc. An element of this will be the environment and, hopefully, a determined focus on tackling global warming. Environmental credentials will therefore be key and those businesses which stand out from the crowd in what they do will be the winners.

Private and family businesses have typically taken the longer term view on CSR as it's the right thing to do for the business, society and future generations. Cementing and even accelerating this mindset will continue to bring competitive advantages.

Workforce of the Future

Most people will have reflected on their life before Covid-19 and they will be considering what changes they want in a post Covid-19 world. More working from home is here to stay in the short to medium term and may be a societal shift longer term. Free time, health, family, helping others and being a good citizen will be more important. Looking again at what employees want, how they want to work and how to get the best out of them will be critical as businesses move beyond the initial crisis response.

Private and family businesses have typically focused more on their employee well-being and welfare (out of real concern and desire rather than just for the associated business benefits) and many refer to their employees as part of their "family".

De-globalisation

Globalisation was always an opportunity for private businesses, but with potentially limited finance, experience and a more risk adverse approach, most private businesses have steered away from global expansion and resisted off-shoring business activity. Many commentators have referenced the potential long term impact of the crisis on the level of globalisation. Covid-19 brings multiple implications, from customers looking to buy or source locally (either by necessity or choice) to businesses worried about international supply chains which would lead to a slow down or even reversal of globalisation as the location of supply and demand moves back closer.

Private businesses that focus on their local markets and are less exposed to international trade are well placed for any reversal of globalisation.

Innovation and Speed of Change

Although private and family businesses don't have the fire power of global giants when it comes to innovation and developing and investing in new technology, they have the advantage of agility. There has been much talk about businesses "pivoting" during and post Covid-19, but this is really hard to do in a complex global organisation. Private business management and owners are typically close to the ground, hands on and live their business and industry, meaning innovation and business changes can be decided on and implemented with speed.

This private business agility and closeness to the "new/next normal" market should provide a key advantage.

The one area of concern on technology, however, is that any de-globalisation may result in an acceleration of automation and robotics as global businesses seek to rely less on off-shoring with "cheaper" off-shore labour being replaced with on-shore automation and robotics. Private businesses need to be agile to adapt to this and ensure their businesses are not disrupted out of business.

Conclusion

It's difficult to describe anything as a "golden age" at present, but in years to come we may look back at the pre and post Covid time and see a dramatic shift in business and society. I believe private and family businesses, which have always better reflected wider "society" in their businesses, will continue to have many important competitive advantages. Although most of us are focusing on the day to day, and many on survival, I believe we should also be looking longer term at how our businesses can make the best use of these competitive advantages to thrive in a post Covid-19 world.

As always, I welcome others views on this and happy to discuss and debate further. You can contact via email chris@friendsromanscountrymen.co.uk or leave your comments via the button below.